We LOVE Papa & Grandma

Did you know that Sunday was ALSO Grandparents Day? According to the calendar and local Hallmark store... IT IS!! So we were lucky to not only celebrate my birthday, Emily's blessing, but we were able to honor our grandparents. My kids are lucky to have 2 sets of super grandparents. My parents spent a long weekend here and did lots of fun things with the big kids. They took them all over and had a great time shopping, visiting family, and going to the Utah State Fair. Kaya helped my mom make me a birthday cake and Emily loved all the extra attention. Even Logan talked my Dad into buying him the "Gordon" train at Toys R Us. What a fun time. The kids woke up Monday morning asking where Grandma & Papa were. (They left really early.) We all enjoyed having them here.

Grandma Joanne Luna

(Grandma & Heather - 1977)

My parents called me early on Monday morning from the airport. They just found out that my dad's mom passed away early on the morning of the 8th from causes related to cancer. She had secondary breast cancer that had metastasized. She had been sick for a little over 2 years. My grandfather (her husband) passed away a little over a year ago. This is a difficult time, however we are so thankful that Grandma is free from her physical body and has been reunited with her husband and all the others that have gone on before her. Grandma was a WONDERFUL woman full of love, kindness, compassion, and generosity. I will miss her dearly but am grateful to know that I will see her again.(Great Grandma & Kaya - 2006)

Kaya's First Day of Preschool

Today was Kaya's first day of pre-school. She has been looking forward to going to school all year long and was VERY excited for the day to finally be here. We had a meet & greet open house today and tomorrow will be her first official day (With NO Mom there). Kaya is a very social little girl and will greatly benefit from having school 3 days a week, especially in the winter when we can't really go outside to play. Here's a picture from her first day:

COUSINS

I have 2 sister in laws so far and all three of us were due to have babies this year. Jeffrey and his wife Brittany live in Wisconsin and are due to have their baby in the end of September. My other brother Jason and his wife lived in Salt Lake until about a week ago when they packed up their things and headed off to law school in Minnesota. So my sister in law, Sara (Jason's wife) was due with her baby 3 days after me. We were neck in neck right up until the end when I delivered on 8-8-08 and she delivered on 8-13-08. We had our adorable Emily and Sara gave birth to handsome Damien Quinn. Emily was 8 lb 3 oz - 20 inches long and Damien was 9 lb 3 oz - 22 inches long! Since Sara and her boys fly out to MN in the morning, we got together to get some pictures of the kids before they left. Logan and their son Preston were born about 3 months apart in 2006. It'll be fun for the kids to have cousins so close in age as they grow up. Me & Sara on 7-13-08 (One month to go!)

Emily & Damien checking each other out.

Logan & Preston

Above is my brother and my cute niece, Ettoile, in Wisconsin. She will be getting a little brother in about 3 weeks.

And of course we have Kaya! She's the lucky one to start it all only 4 years ago. My parents will go from having 4 grandkids to 7 this year!

Emily Pics...

Happy Birthday Logan!!

Today we celebrate Logan's 2nd Birthday!!! Logan is our VERY active 2nd child. He is so full of boy energy and keeps us on our toes. Have you ever heard the quote, "A mother works from son up, until son down"? That's how it is in our house. Logan is usually the first one awake followed by myself so that I can keep him quiet/entertained so that everyone else can continue to sleep. He loves ANYTHING to do with cars, trucks, tractors, trains, planes, motorcycles, construction, etc. His favorite movies to watch over and over and over again are CARS and Thomas the Tank Engine. Logan loves to be outdoors riding his scooter, playing on the swingset, exploring in the garden, or just running around. He is a hard wired boy through and through. We love our Logan and enjoy each new adventure he brings into our lives! Happy Birthday, Buddy!!!!

It's a good thing she's so CUTE!

Here's a picture of Emily from today. Last Thursday at 4AM, Emily decided she was going to go on a nursing strike. It took me 2 hours to get her latched on for only 5 minutes of eating. OUCH! The strike lasted almost 2 days until I was able to get in touch with a local La Leche League leader who talked me through a few tips on how to get her nursing again. IT WORKED!! In the mean time, I pumped milk and cried the whole time Aaron fed her the bottle. (I WASN'T ready to give up nursing after only 6 days!!) I paid $30 to visit a lactation consultant from the hospital who informed me that I was doing everything right and that Emily was just being stubborn. (Money well spent there.) At least she's back to being a good eater. Unfortunately, she's already gotten the her first cold thanks to the kids. So much for trying to keep everyone healthy. At least it hasn't affected her ability or desire to nurse. Now if I can just figure how to NOT have sore nipples. You would think that by my 3rd child, my boobs would be used to being chomped on but sadly no....